France coach Didier Deschamps urged his players to be constantly mindful of Cristiano Ronaldo in tonight's Euro 2016 final and insisted that the Ballon d'Or will be a battle between the Portugal captain and Lionel Messi
Saint-Denis (France): France coach Didier Deschamps urged his players to be constantly mindful of Cristiano Ronaldo in tonight's Euro 2016 final and insisted that the Ballon d'Or will be a battle between the Portugal captain and Lionel Messi. Deschamps said he wanted France's rising star Antoine Griezmann to be on the world player of the year list but he would have to wait to get the honour.
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Dider Deschamps
"Antoine is still a young player, even if he has had a very great season. Deschamps said Ronaldo is often unstoppable. "If there's an anti-Ronaldo plan, no-one's found it," Deschamps said.
"He's a really great player with athletic quality, particularly in the air. He really hangs in the air — those chocolate squares (abdominal muscles) don't count for nothing. In football, the most difficult things to fight against are pace and aerial ability. It will be important to remain attentive and restrict his influence."
Asked how he transmitted his winning mentality to his players, he said: "It's the quality of the players, above all, and the team spirit. It's my work with my staff. We've had two years of friendly matches. We didn't win them all, but we did our best to preserve that team spirit. There's nothing greater than winning and you have to do everything to get there."
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